Chapter 26
reservation system
A means of designating land that Native Americans were free to live on with limited outside interference.
Gold Standard Act
An act that did not allow the coinage of free silver and went with the gold standard of the Republicans.
Granger Laws
During the late 1800's an organization of farmers, called the Grange, strove to regulate railway rates and storage fees charged by railroads, warehouses, and grain elevators through state legislation. These such laws were passed, but eventually reversed, and were referred to as the Granger Laws.
James B. Weaver
He was a Civil War general chosen as the presidential candidate of the Populist party. He was a Granger with an apt skill for public speaking. He ended up getting three percent of the popular votes, which seems small, but which is really a large number for a third party candidate.
George A. Custer
He was a former general of the Civil War famous for his golden curls and flamboyance. He was nicknamed the "boy general." During the Sioux War of 1876-1877, he attacked 2,500 Sioux warriors near the Little Big Horn River in Montana and was completely wiped out. He, and his 264 men's defeat, was mainly due to being outnumbered and this man's arrogant attack without waiting for reinforcements.
Oliver H. Kelly
He was an energetic Mason from Minnesota. This man was the National Grange of the Patron's of Husbandry's leading spirit. The Grange's primary objectives were to stimulate the minds of the farm people by social, educational, and fraternal activities. The Grange was organized in 1867. This man had picnics, musical events, and lectures trying to appeal to enough of the farmers to reach his goals of self-improvement. The movement later got into the push for greenbacks and inflation.
Chief Joseph
He was chief of the Nez Perce Indians of Idaho. His people didn't want gold hunters to trespass on their beaver river. To avoid war, and save his people, this man tried retreating to Canada. They were cornered 30 miles from safety and he surrendered in 1877.
Sitting Bull
He was one of the leaders of the Sioux nation. He was a medicine man "as wily as he was influential." He became a prominent Indian leader during the Sioux War from 1876-1877. The war was touched off when a group of miners rushed into the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1875, sacred Indian land. The well-armed warriors at first proved to be a superior force. During Custer's Last Stand in 1876, this man was "making medicine" while another Indian, Crazy Horse, led the Sioux. When more whites arrived at this Battle of Little Big Horn, this man and the other Sioux were forced into Canada. The Sioux will return later and lead the "Ghost Dance" revival.
Comstock Lode
In 1859, a great amount of gold and silver was discovered in Nevada at this site. The "fifty- niners" rushed to Nevada in their own hopes of getting rich, which caused Nevada to become a state.
Joseph F. Glidden
In 1874, this man invented a superior type of barbed wire and in 1883 the company was producing 600 miles of the product each day. Barbed wire was the main cause of the end of the open range, long drive cowboy days.
Battle of Wounded Knee
In 1890, a group of white Christian reformers tried to bring Christian beliefs to the Indians. Fearing the Ghost Dance, American troops were called in. While camped outside of an Indian reservation, a gun was fired and the troops stormed the reservation killing Indian men, women, and children. This battle and this year marked the end of "the Wild West" as by then, the Indians were either moved to reservations or dead. This year, 1890, was when the U.S. government stated the frontier was gone.
Free Silver
Silverites were in favor of silver over gold in terms of currency. States with a lot of silver wanted unlimited coinage of silver. This would cause inflation (rising prices). This was desired because it enabled debtors, such as farmers, to more easily pay off debts. If money was worth very little (as with inflation) it's easier to get more money and therefore pay off one's debt. They were said to like "cheap money."
Long Drive
These took place in the 1870s and 80s in the Western plain states. Cattle ranchers needed a way to easily transport their cattle to eastern cities. Cowboys would round up a herd of cattle and "drive" them from Texas to Kansas which held the nearest railroad.
Sioux Wars
These wars lasted from 1876-1877. These were spectacular clashes between the Sioux Indians and white men. They were spurred by gold-greedy miners rushing into Sioux land. The white men were breaking their treaty with the Indians. The Sioux Indians were led by Sitting Bull and they were pushed by Custer's forces. Custer led these forces until he was killed at the battle at Little Bighorn. Many of the Indians were finally forced into Canada, where they were forced by starvation to surrender.
Dawes Severalty Act
This 1887 law dismantled American Indian tribes, set up individuals as family heads with 160 acres, tried to make rugged individualists out of the Indians, and attempted to assimilate the Indian population into that of the American
Homestead Act
This law, passed in 1862, stated that a settler could acquire up to 160 acres of land and pay a minimal fee of $30.00 just for living on it for five years and settling it. A settler could acquire it for only six months and pay $1.25 an acre. This was important because previously land had been sold for profit and now it was basically being given away. About half a million families took advantage of this offer. Unfortunately, it was often too good to be true and the land was ravaged by drought and hard to cultivate.
William McKinley
This man presented a tariff bill in the House, and lost his seat in Congress because of it. He ran on the Republican ticket in the 1896 election and won the presidency while preaching a gold standard platform. He won again in 1900 and was assassinated in 1901.
Eugene V. Debs
This man was a labor leader who helped organize the American Railroad Union. The Union went on strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1894. The strike was put down by armed forces and this man and other leaders were given six months imprisonment. This man would later run for president as a Socialist.
Richard Olney
This man was a lawyer in the 1880's for one of the leading corporations. Later he became the Secretary of State to Grover Cleveland. He was Attorney General during the Pullman strike in 1894 and he issued an injunction for the workers to return to work.
Jacob S. Coxey
This man was a leader of the unemployed during the depression in 1894. He led a march to Washington, demanding that the government begin an inflationary public works program.
Williams Jennings Bryan
This man was an eloquent congressman from Nebraska. During the extra Congress session in the summer of 1893, This man held the galleries spellbound for three hours as he championed the cause of free silver. Despite his efforts, however, President Cleveland alienated the Democratic silverites. He also ran against McKinley in the presidential elections of 1896 and lost.
Geronimo
This man, the leader of the Apaches in Arizona and New Mexico, fought against the white man, who was trying to force the Apaches off of their land. This man had an enormous hatred for the whites and proved very wily and hard to pin down. He was, however, eventually pushed into Mexico where he surrendered.
Pullman Strike
This strike was in 1894 when the company was hurt by the depression. They decided to cut wages about one-third. The workers decided to strike. Attorney General Olney called in the federal troops to break the strike. He thought that the strikers were interfering with the delivery of mail because railroads all over the country went on strike in support of the Pullman workers. These railroads carried the mail. The strike affected the entire country.
Apache
This was a Native American group from Arizona and New Mexico led by Geronimo and whom were difficult for the U.S. government to control. Geronimo was chased into Mexico by federal troops. The tribe became successful farmers raising stock in Oklahoma.
Patrons of Husbandry
This was a group organized in 1867, the leader of which was Oliver H. Kelley. It was better known as The Grange. It was a group with colorful appeal and many passwords for secrecy. The Grange was a group of farmers that worked for improvement for the farmers.
Populists
This was a political group which began to emerge in 1891. They gained much support from farmers who turned to them to fight political injustice. They used a progressive platform. James B. Weaver ran as their presidential candidate in 1892. They had an impressive voter turnout. They were also known as the People's Party.
Ghost Dance
This was a tradition that tried to call the spirits of past warriors to inspire the young braves to fight. It was crushed at the Battle of Wounded Knee after spreading to the Dakota Sioux. This tradition led to the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. This act tried to reform Indian tribes and turn them into "white" citizens. It essentially aimed to break up the tribes.
Farmers' Alliance
This was the first "national" organization of the farmers, which led to the creation of the Populist party. This organization sponsored social gatherings, were active in politics, organized cooperatives, and fought against the dominance of the railroads and manufacturers.
Depression of 1893
This was the most devastating economic recession of the century. It occurred while Grover Cleveland was president and it lasted for four years. It was caused by overbuilding, over-speculation, labor disorder, and agricultural problems. Because of these things, many businesses collapsed and an abundance of people became unemployed.
Bimetallism
This was the use of silver and gold in the economic system. This issue divided much of the United States during the late 19th century because the bankers and industrialists wanted at least a limited amount of silver, if not to get rid of it and the farmers wanted unlimited coinage of silver.
Mary Elizabeth Lease
This woman became well known during the early 1890's for her actions as a speaker for the Populist party. She was a tall, strong woman who made numerous and memorable speeches on behalf of the downtrodden farmer. She denounced the money-grubbing government and encouraged farmers to speak their discontent with the economic situation.
Cross of Gold Speech
William Jennings Bryan became the hero of the Democratic party in the election of 1896 with this famous speech. This speech supported the silver standard for currency, as opposed to the gold standard, and it also supported the unlimited coinage of silver.
Marcus Alonzo Hanna
financially and politically supported the candidate William McKinley through his political years.
